Nike Taps De La Soul for Workout Track

De La Soul are releasing their first new music in five years on April 28 as part of the Nike+ campaign. The 45-minute long track, which will be released in partnership with Apple, was written specifically for runners, but can be enjoyed by active and sedentary music fans alike.

"We'd worked with Nike before, designing kicks and playing some of their marathons," said Kelvin Mercer, aka Posdnuos. "We were excited when they approached us because we're the first actual band to do one of these tracks."

Previous Nike+ tracks have been recorded by LCD Soundsystem, A-Trak, and Aesop Rock.

"The set we did is an actual album, with eight or nine songs, not one long DJ set," said Mercer. "We recorded the songs and took them to Nike for feedback, and then brought in Flostradamous to mix it all together."

Mercer said working on the tracks and wanting to get the pacing right motivated him to work out more. "I've dabbled in running before, but I got back in to it and would run to test it out," he said. "Nike also has a team of runners on staff who listen to it and give us their opinion."

De La Soul are also celebrating the 20th anniversary of their debut, "3 Feet High and Rising," and are planning tours of Australia, Europe, and the U.K. Mercer said the band is in the process of working on another full-length release.

De La Soul are releasing their first new music in five years on April 28 as part of the Nike+ campaign. The 45-minute long track, which will be released in partnership with Apple, was written specifically for runners, but can be enjoyed by active and sedentary music fans alike.

"We'd worked with Nike before, designing kicks and playing some of their marathons," said Kelvin Mercer, aka Posdnuos. "We were excited when they approached us because we're the first actual band to do one of these tracks."

Previous Nike+ tracks have been recorded by LCD Soundsystem, A-Trak, and Aesop Rock.

"The set we did is an actual album, with eight or nine songs, not one long DJ set," said Mercer. "We recorded the songs and took them to Nike for feedback, and then brought in Flostradamous to mix it all together."

Mercer said working on the tracks and wanting to get the pacing right motivated him to work out more. "I've dabbled in running before, but I got back in to it and would run to test it out," he said. "Nike also has a team of runners on staff who listen to it and give us their opinion."

De La Soul are also celebrating the 20th anniversary of their debut, "3 Feet High and Rising," and are planning tours of Australia, Europe, and the U.K. Mercer said the band is in the process of working on another full-length release.